Pixie was laid to rest yesterday morning, August 25, 2023, at the vet. I thought we had more time to figure things out, but she went downhill overnight and could not stand. I saw the signs, but didn't realize how bad things were. For that, I am regretful and feel I failed her.

I would not be who I am today if it weren't for Pixie. She showed up as a stray kitten to my family home when I was 11, right as my mom was undergoing chemo and radiation, and I sat in the bathroom with Pixie while she was quarantined and healing from a shoulder wound, fleas, and a cough. I became her person by being in the bathroom with her every day and reading to and playing with her. There weren't any other human beings she trusted as much as me. She only slept on my bed and only had eyes for me.

She was with me through everything: my mom's cancer, middle school, high school, my parents' bitter divorce, my dad's military deployments, college, my short marriage, three different jobs and a layoff, my own divorce during COVID, all of it. To say I love her is an understatement. She is a part of my heart forever and always.

I hope she knows how much I love her and how sorry I am. It was a blessing and an honor to have been hers. Rest well, my forever best buddy.